PACC urges community to leave newborn kittens in their place

With summer breeding season underway, Pima Animal Care Center is taking in an average of 55 pets every day, and calling on the community to help them save the most vulnerable group: newborn and infant kittens.

“Newborn and infant kittens require specialized, around-the-clock care, and at this time we do not have the resources needed to care for them more than a few hours in our shelter,” said Justin Gallick, PACC’s director of community engagement. “In most situations, staying with their mothers offers them the best chance at survival.”

PACC officials urge well-intentioned good Samaritans concerned about kittens they may come upon to leave them in their place. Mothers rarely abandon their young, but must leave their kittens for extended time periods to care for themselves and may sometimes only come and go to nurse. Before removing them and bringing them to PACC, officials suggest you follow these few basic steps to ensure they are truly on their own. These steps include waiting, observing from a significant distance with infrequent checking as to not alarm the mother, and assessing for immediate danger.

If you find kittens, PACC advises you to consider:

If there is a single kitten or two, it is possible that the mother is in the process of relocating them. She can only move them one at a time in her mouth.

If the kittens’ bellies are rounded and feel warm/full, then their mother has recently fed them.

If the kittens appear sick (i.e. eye and/or respiratory infections, diarrhea) they may need to be removed from their mother’s care for treatment.

When orphaned kittens come to PACC, the shelter relies on volunteer foster parents to bottle feed them.
“Raising bottle baby kittens is demanding, although incredibly rewarding, and there is a tremendous need for volunteer foster parents this time of year,” Gallick said.

For more detailed guidance on what to do and not do when finding kittens, as well as information on becoming a volunteer foster parent, visit PACC’s website.